Effects of health information on Nordic meat and fish demand

Increasing public concerns about health risks associated with dietary intakes of cholesterol are expected to have significant impacts on the demand for foods with high fat content. This paper investigates how information about cholesterol, as measured by two newly constructed indices based on published medical research, has affected the demand for meats (beef, chicken and pork) and fish in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). To compare the effects of information across countries and over time, the demand equations for all the countries are estimated within one system, and a complete set of price and expenditure elasticities is estimated. Our findings suggest that health information has affected consumption in a healthy way in all countries studied except for Denmark. We find positive effects on the demand for chicken in Finland, Norway and Sweden and for fish in Finland and Sweden. A negative effect on the demand for beef in Sweden also is found. First version received: May 2001/Final version received: December 2001 RID="*" ID="*"  The authors would like to thank Wen S. Chern and Bj?rn Sl?en for their assistance in the construction of the health information indices. The suggestions of two anonymous referees have also been of great assistance. The EU (contract FAIRS-CT97-3373) and the Research Council of Norway (grant no. 134018/110) provided financial support for this research.”     

Effects of consumer cohorts and age on meat expenditures in the United States

Meat demand is likely influenced by the birth cohort and age of the individual. In this study, we examine the demand for beef, pork, poultry, and other meat in the United States using the 1984–2012 Consumer Expenditure Survey and the almost ideal demand system with the incorporation of age, period, and cohort (APC) effects. We find that the model with APC effects performs better than the models without APC effects. The results indicate that cohorts born in earlier time periods are expected to purchase significantly less poultry compared to cohorts born in later time periods, when they are measured at the same age. Over the life cycle, purchase of poultry is expected to increase with age while the opposite is true for red meat. We also find that the own-price elasticity for beef is highest among the products examined, while the own-price elasticity for other meat is lowest and the inclusion of APC effects increases the absolute value of the own-price elasticities for beef, pork, and poultry, but reduces the own-price elasticity for other meat. Our forecasts indicate that the aggregate poultry purchase will continue to increase until 2022, while the aggregate purchase of red meat will slightly increase until 2017, but will either decrease or stay at same level from year 2017 to 2022.     

Extrapolating experimental-auction results using a stated choice survey

During the last decade, experimental auctions and stated choice(SC) surveys have been widely used to study food demand. Thesemethods have complementary strengths and weaknesses. Experimentalauctions are limited by the availability of products and theuse of locally recruited participants, whereas SC surveys lackreal economic incentives. We use an SC survey to extrapolatethe results of an experimental auction to hypothetical productswith non-existing attribute combinations and to a representativesample of Norwegian consumers. The method is illustrated usingNorwegian consumers' preferences for country-of-origin and hormonestatus for beef.     

A Censored Quantile Regression Analysis of Vegetable Demand: The Effects of Changes in Prices and Total Expenditure

Many diseases are linked to dietary behavior. One major diet‐related risk factor is a low consumption of vegetables. The consumption may be increased through public policies. The effects on vegetable purchases of either removing the value added tax on vegetables or a general income support are investigated. Adverse health effects are most serious in households consuming low quantities of vegetables. Therefore, the effects on high‐ and low‐consuming households are estimated by using quantile regressions (QRs). Since many households did not purchase any vegetable during each survey period, censored as well as ordinary QRs are used. Our results suggest that the effects of the policy variables differ in different parts of the conditional distribution of vegetable purchases. None of the proposed policy options is likely to substantially increase vegetable purchases among low‐consuming households. Bon nombre de maladies découlent des habitudes alimentaires. La faible consommation de légumes constitue un important facteur de risque liéà l'alimentation. Cette consommation pourrait être accrue par l'instauration de politiques gouvernementales. Nous avons examiné les effets de l'abolition de la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée ou d'un soutien du revenu sur les achats de légumes. Les effets néfastes sur la santé sont plus graves chez les ménages qui consomment de faibles quantités de légumes. Nous avons donc estimé les effets chez les ménages à forte et à faible consommation de légumes à l'aide de régressions par quantile. Comme de nombreux ménages n'ont pas acheté de légumes au cours des périodes sondées, nous avons utilisé des régressions par quantile censurées et des régressions par quantile ordinaires. Nos résultats ont indiqué que les effets des variables concernant les politiques diffèrent dans différentes parties de la distribution conditionnelle des achats de légumes. Aucune des options politiques proposées ne semble susceptible d'accroître substantiellement les achats de légumes chez les ménages qui en consomment peu.     

Health information and diet choices: Results from a cheese experiment

This study reports results from a choice experiment on semi-hard cheese from Norway. About half of the 408 participants were exposed to diet-related health information before performing either a choice or a ranking task, while a control group did not receive such information. The effects of health information on marginal willingness to pay for low-saturated-fat, low-fat and organic cheese are analyzed using rank-ordered mixed logit models. Cheese preferences are clearly affected by exposure to health information. On average, the health information group is willing to pay a price premium of 27.2% (NOK 24.5 per kg) for low-saturated-fat cheese and 14.4% (NOK 13.0 per kg) for low-fat cheese. This is respectively 1.73 and 2.89 times more than corresponding price premiums in the control group. Non-college, medium–high income, age 50–70 and female participants are more clearly affected by health information than college, low income, age 30–49 and male participants. Subjective statements on diet-health knowledge and awareness are used to discuss these findings. Our results suggest that provision of health information is likely to reduce educational differences in diet-health knowledge and thus dietary behavior. Low income participants seem to be constrained by high food prices, but not by lack of knowledge or awareness. Finally, due to lack of diet-health awareness, reaching out to young people and particularly males through health information policies seems difficult.     

The demand for food and beverages in Norway

The demand for food and beverages is estimated within a three-stage demand model. The separability structure of the model is checked by nonparametric tests. Some generalized axiom of revealed preference (GARP) violations are detected in one of the subsystems. However, they are removed by small adjustments in the quantities of fish, and the violations are interpreted as results of measurement errors. The almost ideal demand system is used in the static and a dynamic version. The results of various specification and misspccification tests suggest that the static version performs poorly as compared with the dynamic version. Norwegian demand elasticities for disaggregate food commodities have rarely been estimated within a system framework, so the results are of intrinsic interest. The elasticities estimated by using the dynamic model are of the expected signs and reasonable magnitudes. The values are stable over time for most commodities. Elasticities estimated within a subsystem are conditional on the goods included in that system, and they may differ from the more policy relevant unconditional elasticities estimated within a system including all goods. Adjustment formulas are used to approximate the unconditional elasticities from the estimated conditional elasticities. There are considerable differences between the numerical values of the conditional and unconditional elasticities for several of the foods. The unconditional own-price elasticities are in the interval-0.20 to-0.89. The own-price elasticities for hot drinks and for milk are most inelastic. The unconditional expenditure elasticities for food-away-from-home, fish, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages are above one, while the expenditure elasticity for hot drinks is about zero.     

European Consumers5 Acceptance of US Hormone-Treated Beef

European Consumers' Acceptance of US Hormone‐Treated Beef The European Union's ban of hormone‐treated beef is one of the most contentious trade disputes between the US and the EU, The EU claims that consumption of hormone‐treated beef constitutes a possible risk to human health and, moreover, that European consumers are unwilling to accept such a risk. On the other hand, the US claims that the ban is a protectionist measure. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled in favour of the US, saying that there is insufficient scientific evidence to support the ban. The effects on human health can only be evaluated through more medical research but surveys and methods from experimental economics can be used to investigate consumers' acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for hormone‐treated beef. European surveys show that the average consumer is sceptical towards hormone‐treated beef. In experimental auctions conducted in Norway, most participants bid significantly less for US hormone‐treated than hormone‐free beef. However, 18 per cent were indifferent and 10 per cent of the participants preferred the hormone‐treated beef. Given this heterogeneity of preferences, mandatory labelling is a possible solution to the trade dispute. Mandatory labelling, however, has met stern opposition from both sides and no solution to the dispute seems to be close. Les consommateurs européens et la viande de boeuf américain traité aux hormones L'interdiction en Europe de la viande de boeuf américain traité aux hormones constitue l'une des sources majeures de contentieux commercial entre les Etats‐Unis et PEurope. L'Union européenne soutient que la consommation de boeuf traité aux hormones représente un risque et ajoute que les consommateurs européens ne veulent pas le courir. Les Américains, de leur côté, prétendent qu'il s'agit là d'une mesure protectionniste. L'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) s'est prononcée en faveur des américains, au motif qu'il n'existe pas, pour justifier l'interdiction, assez de preuves scientifiques sérieuses du danger. Si l'appréciation des effets de la viande de boeuf aux hormones sur la santé humaine exige des recherches médicates poussées, il est possible, avec des enquêtes et les méthodes de l'économie expérimentale, d'avoir des informations sur l'attitude des consommateurs et leur ‘volonté de payer’ (VDP). Les enquêtes conduites en Europe montrent que dans l'ensemble, les consommateurs europeens sont mefiants vis‐à‐vis de la viande de boeuf traité aux hormones. Dans des études conduites en Norvége sur la base d'enchères fictives, la plupart des participants acceptaient de payer nettement plus cher la viande garantie sans hormone. Cependant, 18%étaient indifférents et 10% préféraient le boeuf traité aux hormones. Au vu de cette hétérogéneité dans les préférences, l'étiquetage obligatoire semble être la solution de ce contentieux commercial. Mais chacune des deux parties s'y oppose formellement, de sorte qu'aucune solution n'est en vue. Die Akzeptanz von hormonbehandeltem Rindfleisch aus den USA bei europäischen Verbrauchern Bei dem EU‐Verbot von hormonbehandeltem Rindfleisch handelt es sich um eine der umstrittensten Handelskontroversen zwischen den USA und der EU. Die EU vertritt den Standpunkt, dass der Verzehr von hormonbehandeltem Rindfleisch ein mögliches Gesundheitst'isiko für den Menschen darstellt und dass es europäische Verbraucher überdies ablehnen, ein solches Risiko in Kauf zu nehmen. Die USA hingegen behaupten, dass es sich bei dem Verbot um eine protektionistische Maßnahme handelt. Die Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) hat zu Gunsten der USA entschieden, da die Befürwortung eines solchen Verbotes nur unzureichend wissenschaftlich begründet werden könne. Die gesundheitlichen Auswirkungen auf den Menschen können nur durch eine intensivere medizinische Forschung evaluiert werden; mit Hilfe von Umfragen und Methoden aus dem Bereich der Experitnentalökonomie kann jedoch die Akzeptanz und Zahlungsbereitschaft der Verbraucher fur hormonbehandeltes Rindfleisch untersucht werden. Umfragen in Europa zeigen, dass der durchschnittliche Verbraucher hormonbehandeltem Rindfleisch gegenüber skeptisch eingestellt ist. Bei experimentellen Auktionen in Norwegen boten die meisten Teilnehmer signifikant weniger für hormonbehandeltes Rindfleisch als für hormonfreies Rindfleisch. 18 Prozent der Teilnehmer waren jedoch unentschieden und 10 Prozent bevorzugten das hormonbehandelte Rindfleisch. In Anbetracht dieser Präferenzheterogenitat ist eine Pflichtkennzeichnung eine mögliche Lösung dieser Handelskontroverse. Die Pflichtkennzeichnung trifft jedoch auf beiden Seiten auf erbitterte Gegner und daher scheint eine Lösung der Kontroverse in nächster Zeit nicht wahrscheinlich,     

Test‐Retesting in Experimental Valuation of Perishable Food Products: Unstable Individual Bids and Reliable Market Demand

One important property of a preference measure is its reliability. In this article, we explore the reliability of experimental auctions in measuring the market demand for five types of fish. We use the test‐retest method to compare demand curves from two Becker–DeGroot–Marschak experiments with the same 116 participants conducted 7 months apart in time. The individual bids are not stable for these perishable products, but the distributions of the individual bids are stable. We find that the unsystematic individual variations cancel out in the aggregation of bids in a typical sample size for experimental valuation studies. Our results suggest that experimental auctions provide reliable market demand estimates even though the individual bids may change substantially over time.     

European Consumers' Willingness to Pay for U.S. Beef in Experimental Auction Markets

Consumers' willingness to pay for Irish, Norwegian, U.S. hormone-free, and U.S. hormone-treated beef was studied in an experimental auction market. We ran four simultaneous second-price auctions to elicit efficiently the complete distribution of willingness to pay differences among our four alternatives. Most participants preferred domestic to imported beef, and half the participants preferred Irish to U.S. hormone-free beef. Hormone-treated beef received the lowest mean bid, but 28% of the participants were indifferent or preferred U.S. hormone-treated to U.S. hormone-free beef.